Chris Wood’s penalty puts Nottingham Forest one game from a Europa League final
Chris Wood has put New Zealand football back at the very top of the European game, settling one of the most important nights of his Nottingham Forest career on top of a knee that was surgically rebuilt only five months ago. The All Whites captain calmly thrashed a 71st-minute penalty into the top corner at the City Ground on Friday morning (NZ time) to seal a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the first leg of an all-English Europa League semi-final, a result that puts Forest within one tight 90 minutes of a European final for the first time in over four decades.
The penalty came from a moment of clear hand-ball by Villa left-back Lucas Digne, whose raised arms blocked Omari Hutchinson’s attempt to scoop the ball back from the byline. Wood took responsibility from the spot, picked his corner and gave Argentine goalkeeper Emi Martinez no chance, the kind of finish that has become the 34-year-old’s calling card across his Forest revival. The strike sends Vitor Pereira’s side to Villa Park for the second leg on May 7 with a slim but very real lead, and the winners will face either Portuguese club Braga or German side Freiburg in the final in Istanbul on May 20. Braga lead Freiburg 2-1 from their first leg.
For Wood, the night carried a quietly extraordinary backstory. The 34-year-old striker underwent knee surgery in December and was widely written off for the rest of the European season. He returned to action only last month, scoring in Forest’s 5-0 demolition of Sunderland a week ago and giving the relegation-threatened Premier League club a much-needed lift. “I wanted to get back fit and firing to help my team as best as I can at the end of the season,” Wood told TNT Sports. “I knew we had a lot to play for when I was fighting to get fit and it’s showing. It’s some big competitions to be a part of.”
Wood was just as measured about the trip back across the Midlands. “It’s nice to have the advantage, but going to Villa Park, it’s going to be a tough game, they’re good at their place, but we’ve done the job here at home and now hopefully we’ll build into next week,” he said. Pereira, Forest’s fourth head coach since September, was prouder still of his squad’s nerve. “Villa are a very tough team, but we competed with them,” the Portuguese boss said. “This is a special group of players. I have the privilege to be the manager of these boys, they are a fantastic group. Spirit, four managers in a season, and finishing at this level, competing at this level together and united. This is a honour for me.”
The match itself swung between both ends. Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers was set up early by Ollie Watkins and curled an effort that forced a fingertip dive from Forest keeper Stefan Ortega. At the other end Martinez produced a save that was quickly being talked about as one of the great goalkeeping moments of this Europa League season, throwing an arm back behind himself to claw a point-blank shot from Igor Jesus off the line. Watkins came close again early in the second half before Ortega blocked his close-range strike with an outstretched arm. Without Wood’s coolness from 12 yards, the tie may well have stayed scoreless.
The wider context tells you why the Forest faithful were singing long after the final whistle. Wood’s club won back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980 under Brian Clough, and the trophy cabinet has gathered dust ever since. Aston Villa, meanwhile, were crowned European champions in 1982 and have not lifted a continental trophy since. Both clubs are chasing more than a single piece of silverware here, they are chasing a release from decades of “what if”. Villa are also on the verge of locking in Champions League football for next season via a top-five Premier League finish, which would soften the blow of any Europa League exit. Forest, sitting 16th, have nothing else to play for and everything to gain.
For New Zealand, Wood’s night is a reminder of just how rare an active footballer of his calibre is in this country’s sporting story. He remains the only Kiwi to have scored a Premier League hat-trick, he is the All Whites’ all-time record goalscorer, and he is now the man on the team sheet at the most decisive moment of Forest’s biggest European tie in a generation. With Wellington Phoenix’s A-League season behind them and Auckland FC fighting for their own A-League future in their elimination final on Saturday, Wood is keeping the New Zealand football flag flying at the very top of the European game even while a December operation looked, for a moment, like it would steal that chance from him.
Should Forest finish the job at Villa Park next week, Wood will lead his club into a European final in Istanbul on May 20, a venue that has hosted some of football’s most extraordinary finals, including Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League comeback against AC Milan. Whatever happens next, a single penalty on a dewy night in Nottingham has already shifted the centre of gravity in New Zealand’s football story for 2026.
Have you watched Wood’s Forest run this season, and do you back them to finish the job at Villa Park? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.